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HORACE F.ASH

ENGLISH READER;

HORACE F.ASH

PIECES IN PROSE AND POETRY,

SELECTED FROM THE BEST WRITERS.

DESIGNED TO ASSIST YOUNG PERSONS TO READ WITH PROPRIETY AND
EFFECT; TO IMPROVE THEIR LANGUAGE AND SENTIMENTS ;
AND TO INCULCATE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
PRINCIPLES OF PIETY AND VIRTUE.

WITH A FEW PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON THE PRIN-
CIPLES OF GOOD READING.

IMPROVED BY THE ADDITION OF A

CONCORDANT AND SYNONYMISING VOCABULARY,
CONSISTING OF ABOUT FIFTEEN HUNDRED OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
WORDS CONTAINED IN THIS WORK.

THE WORDS ARE ARRANGED IN COLUMNS AND PLACED OVER THE
SECTIONS RESPECTIVELY, FROM WHICH THEY ARE
SELECTED; AND ARE

DIVIDED, DEFINED, AND PRONOUNCED ACCORD-
ING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF

JOHN WALKER.

THE WORDS IN THE VOCABULARY AND THEIR CORRESPONDENT WORDS
IN THE SECTIONS, ARE NUMBERED WITH FIGURES OF REFERENCE.
WALKER'S PRONOUNCING KEY, WHICH GOVERNS THE
VOCABULARY, IS PREFIXED TO THIS WORK,

Words can have no definitive idea attached to them when by them-
selves; it is the situation and tract in a sentence which determines
their precise meaning. Dr. Johnson.

BY JEREMIAH GOODRICH.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N Y

PUBLISHED AND SOLD BY SAMUEL NEWTON,

PRINTED BY BLAKE, CUTLER, and co. BELLOWS FALLS, VT.

207 1824

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW-YORK, TO WIT:

BE it remembered, That on the fifth day of July, in the for L. S. ty-seventh year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1822. E. & E. HOSFORD,* of the said district, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit: 'Murray's English Reader; or pieces in prose and poetry, selected from the best writers, designed to assist young persons to read with propriety and effect; to improve their language and sentiments; and to inculcate some of the most important principles of piety and virtue, with a few preliminary observations on the principles of good reading, improved by the addition of a concordant and synonymising vocabulary; consisting of about fifteen hundred of the most important words, contained in this work. The words are arranged in columns, and are placed over the sections, respectively, from which they are selected; and are divided, defined and pronounced, according to the principles of John Walker. The words in the vocabulary, and their correspondent words in the sections, are numbered with figures of reference. Walker's Pronouncing Key which governs the vocabulary, is perfixed to this work. Words can have no definitive idea attached to them when by themselves; it is the situation and tract in the sentence which determine their precise meaning;-Dr. Johnson. By JEREMIAH GOODRICH."

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authours and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and also, to the act, entitled "An act supplementary to an act, entitled "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the anthours and proprietors of such copies during the time therein mentioned,' and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of Designing, Engraving and Etching historical and other prints."

RICHARD R. LANSING, Clerk of

the Northern District of N. York.

*By misprision of the Clerk, the names of E. & E. HOSFORD, were inserted in the record and certificate, instead of JEREMIAH GOODRICH,

PREFACE

TO THE

IMPROVED EDITION OF THE ENGLISH READER.

:

An attempt to improve a work stamped with the name of the immortal Murray and clothed with universal patronage, may be deemed the height of presumption. But the Authour has not handled the Reader irreverently; for he has left it in precisely the same shape in which he found it except that a few pages are added to its size by placing a vocabulary over each section, giving the definition and true pronunciation of the most important words, agreeably to the principles of the celebrated John Walker. Walker's orthography is also given to the work for the purpose of uniformity. Mr. Murray says, that the English Reader is "designed to assist young persons to read with propriety and effect; and to improve their language and sentiments " To every one, who can read Murray's title page, it is evident, that young persons can not read the following work with propriety and effect, without a perfect knowledge of the words of which it is composed.Neither can their language and sentiments be much improved, by prating over a work, without regard either to pronunciation or definition. As there can be no diversity of opinion on this point the only question is, what is the most convenient and expeditious method of acquiring a necessary knowledge of words. All will agree, that the best method of becoming acquainted with words, is to consult them, as they occur in the writ ngs of the best authours. But the drudgery of looking out words in a full dictionary, (which must be repeated as often as the learner may forget thein,) added to the loss of time and the expense of having dictionaries tumbled to pieces in the hands of children, calls loudly for improvement. The publick are now invited to determine, whether a pronouncing vocabulary placed at the head of each section, is not a more desirable mode of acquisition, than to ramble over Walker's full work, for every unknown word, that may occur.

By the aid of this vocabulary, teachers can furnish their pupils with lessons in spelling, pronunciation, and definition, to

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